COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio’s attorney general has joined his counterparts in 41 states to urge the federal government to require manufacturers of generic prescription pain relievers to develop tamper-resistant versions of their products.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says he wants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure that generic drugs, like their branded counterparts, have abuse-deterrent properties. He says adding new physical and chemical features to prescription opioids can deter abuse and accidental death.

DeWine made his request with other attorneys general in a letter sent to the federal agency earlier this month.

Overdose drug deaths driven largely by painkiller addictions have surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio.

Like many Midwestern cities, Marion has struggled in recent decades. The proud blue-collar town was once a regional industry leader, but times have changed and factories have closed. As industry moved out, drugs...specifically heroin...moved in.

Like many Midwestern cities, Marion has struggled in recent decades. The proud blue-collar town was once a regional industry leader, but times have changed and factories have closed.

As industry moved out, drugs, especially heroin, moved in.

Marion: Then And Now

It’s here, near downtown Marion at the old Power Shovel factory, where some of the world’s largest machinery once rolled off the assembly line to job sites like the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and NASA launch pads.

“Very family friendly,” says Bev Ford, who grew up in the city north of Columbus.

“I can remember things like riding my bicycle downtown, ice skating at McKinley Park, and sledding at the Memorial.”

That’s the memorial to Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the U.S. and Marion’s most famous son. Ford says the town started to change as employers like Power Shovel and Quaker Oats shut their doors and laid off workers.

Industry in Marion started to leave and those places were closing down, certainly that was an economic impact, and some of Marion’s economic landscape began to change at that point.

It was about four years ago when police and local activists say heroin started to infiltrate the city by way of Detroit.

A Recovering Addict Tells His Story

If you had to pick one person susceptible to the dangers of heroin, it would probably be Derek Eger.

Eger was no stranger to drugs; he says his mother is an addict. And Eger says he ran with an unsavory crowd. As a high school senior, he says his mom kicked him out of the house.

He turned to pain killers.

“When I first started (heroin), it wasn’t an everyday thing, just like the pills weren’t,” Eager says.

“But then before I knew it, I had to wake up in the morning and the very first thing I had to do was heroin, and I didn’t have it I had to figure out a way to get it. And that’s how everybody else it. That’s why there’s such problems with crime, especially in this town.”

Egger says to get heroin, he had to deal with what he describes as “serious people”, often gang members from cities like Chicago and Detroit.

“We got people coming from out of town, from out of state, coming to this town specifically to sell their drugs and make their money. And there’s people coming here just to get their drugs and to get high.”

Wilhelm doesn’t know how many people in Marion are addicted to heroin, but he says it’s surely several hundred in a city of about 36,000 people. Treatment programs are full and have waiting lists.

And if people can get accepted, it’s hard to pay for.

“Most of these individuals are single, they’re not eligible for Medicaid, typically they’re unemployed so they have no income. And so getting them the Suboxone program is a very challenging thing.”

And if they can’t get their treatment funded?

“They’re out on their own,” says Wilhelm.

They’re S.O.L.

City, Church Leaders Fight Back

City leaders are quick to point out the heroin problem isn’t unique to Marion.

“Heroin is not grown in Marion, it’s not made in Marion,” says Marion Mayor Scott Schertzer. “It comes from outside the United State borders.

“That’s why the national government needs to get involved and cut down the pipeline bringing these drugs into the United States.”

Schertzer says police are doing what they can with increased patrols and undercover work, and a regional drug task force recently arrested more than 30 people. Local faith leaders are also trying to fill the void.

Bev Ford is taking it a step further: She and her husband plan to sell their home and buy a downtown building where they’ll live and run an anti-drug ministry.

“There are all kinds of opportunities that the churches have been presented, and they have risen to that challenge. And we see that as another avenue to do that, to reach out and to be involved in Marion and to bring about a positive change,” says Ford.

Faith is also helping former heroin addict Derek Eger. He goes to church every Sunday, attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and is taking classes at Marion Technical College. He hopes to eventually earn a degree in computer sciences.

But temptation is all around: Eger still lives in the same neighborhood as when he was using.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/10/30/marion-struggles-with-increasing-heroin-problem/feed/2addiction,drugs,heroin,marion,ohioLike many Midwestern cities, Marion has struggled in recent decades. The proud blue-collar town was once a regional industry leader, but times have changed and factories have closed. As industry moved out, drugs...specifically heroin...moved in.Like many Midwestern cities, Marion has struggled in recent decades. The proud blue-collar town was once a regional industry leader, but times have changed and factories have closed. As industry moved out, drugs...specifically heroin...moved in.WOSU Newsno4:11Faith-Based Program Helps Women Make Transition from Prisonhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/14/faith-based-program-helps-women-make-transition-from-prison/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/14/faith-based-program-helps-women-make-transition-from-prison/#commentsMon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000Marilyn Smithhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/14/faith-based-program-helps-women-make-transition-from-prison/The Divine Mercy Ministry provides women recently released from prison housing, job skills and addiction recovery.

]]>The majority of women who spend time in Ohio prisons end up returning. The recidivism rate for female criminals in Ohio is 80 percent. A facility near downtown Columbus is trying to improve that number. It’s dedicated to helping female offenders get their lives back on track. WOSU’s Marilyn Smith reports.

On this day 24 year-old Sara Wilson mops the floor of a long corridor in a six story building near downtown.

“Well actually, it was weird because I wanted to complain about it but then the more I was thinking about it I could be mopping the floor in a different environment as prison. So I’m so thankful to be mopping a floor and looking outside while doing it.”

Wilson’s life went off track soon after high school. Bored with life in her rural hometown, she soon found drugs provided an interesting diversion. As her addiction grew she had to find a way to pay for it.

“I forged a bunch of checks, seven-thousand dollars worth. So I had grand theft and then forgery and receiving stolen property.”

She spent eight months in prison and another three months in a prison-based rehab boot camp. When that ended last December she decided to continue treatment at the Divine Mercy Ministry.

“And I never really did the faith-based part of it through rehabs before so I thought if I went the spiritual way this time, I might get it right.”

Mark Fleming directs the Ministry. The program provides housing, addiction counseling and other services aimed at getting Wilson and others back on the right path Fleming says besides spirituality, there is another factor that determines whether she will get it right this time.

“If they really aren’t ready we can’t help em. I say like it’s things we do but it’s it’s their choice to say they’re ready and to change their life.”

Lori Signoracci’s troubles began when she was a child. Early on her father abandoned Signoracci, her younger sister and their mother who was incapacitated by illness.

“I had to take care of a mother who couldn’t bathe herself, couldn’t dress herself, couldn’t cook, couldn’t even get off the toilet so I became a mother at age nine of her and my younger sister which was seven. And then I grew up and I got married to an alcoholic. I became a caretaker once again. ”

After the birth of her second son Signoracci says she became severely depressed. Her doctor recommended prescription drugs.

“I just ended up taking too many and um goin to different doctors and usin a different identity.”

She was charged with theft and identity theft.

Now at the Divine Mercy Ministry, Signoracci wants to turn her life around. She is enrolled at Columbus State and eventually wants to become a drug and alcohol counselor. In addition to the counseling she’s receiving at the Ministry, Signoracci is learning job skills. She manages a boutique, gift shop and cafe located on-site.

“What I do is I just make sure we have people there to run it and it’s cleaned it’s stocked and the stock gets rotated. And I do the registers in the evening.”

Ministry Director Mark Fleming says the shops and cafe are just the beginning. The building also houses a gym, an auditorium and a swimming pool. Eventually, he sees the facility hosting public events and even weddings.

“I think that’s goin’ to be the big thing in this building we cater the events and its goin’ provide not only employment for the ladies but funding for us to help acquire the building with what we’re trying to do here.”

Fleming says on average women spend six months to two years in the program before they feel ready to return to society. He adds the women may struggle but they are better off in the long run.

“The majority are doing better than they would if they didn’t come here. You know, they’re still fighten’ their battles and some of them won’t listen to what we have to all the things that we’re tryin’ to help em with but um it makes it better and they’re you know they’re not returning to prison.”

Asked where she sees herself in 10 years Sara Wilson has a ready answer.

“Sober and I guess through school and having the little fairy tale dream like every little girl, married with a little picket fence.”

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/14/faith-based-program-helps-women-make-transition-from-prison/feed/0addiction,prisonThe Divine Mercy Ministry provides women recently released from prison housing, job skills and addiction recovery.The Divine Mercy Ministry provides women recently released from prison housing, job skills and addiction recovery.WOSU Newsno4:04Researcher says making small bets could lead to addictionhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/04/02/researcher-says-making-small-bets-could-lead-to-addiction/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/04/02/researcher-says-making-small-bets-could-lead-to-addiction/#commentsMon, 02 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0000Mandie Trimblehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/04/02/researcher-says-making-small-bets-could-lead-to-addiction/The Buckeyes take on the Florida Gators for the NCAA Men's basketball championship Monday night. But it's not just the team players who could win big. Thousands of people filled out March Madness brackets and tonight they'll know how their wagers fared. While some say this kind of social gambling is OK, other's say it can lead to addiction.

]]>The Buckeyes take on the Florida Gators for the NCAA Men’s basketball championship Monday night. But it’s not just the team players who could win big. Thousands of people filled out March Madness brackets and tonight they’ll know how their wagers fared. While some say this kind of social gambling is OK, other’s say it can lead to addiction.

Betting on March Madness games became much easier and widely popular when the NCAA introduced the national bracket 22 years ago. The ritual takes place in local watering holes, offices and college dorms. Although it’s illegal in most states to bet on sports like the NCAA basketball tournaments, this kind of “social gambling” is generally overlooked – as long as a bookie is not involved.

Many people would ask: what’s the harm in making a small wager. A researcher at Central Michigan University, Tim Otteman, said for some, it’s the beginning of a gambling addiction.

“I’m never going to advocate that all gambling is bad, or say we should never participate bit what I am telling people is, it is a slippery slope. Nobody becomes an alcoholic before they have their first drink. Nobody becomes a drug addict before they smoke their first joint. And nobody becomes addicted to sports gambling before they fill out their first bracket,” Otteman said.

Otteman’s research brought him to a man who started small wager gambling as a high school senior. Before he finished his senior year of college, the 20-something had paid off the mafia to leave him and his family alone.

“At the end of his sophomore year he took over the gambling operation from the person he was betting with, operated it right out of his residence hall, doing about $20,000 a week. And at that point organized crime got involved because he was taking such a large amount of money out of the local community, those gambling dollars. They said either you’re going to cut us in on the profits or we’re going to shut your operation down,” Otteman said. Otteman said this is one of the worst case scenarios that could happen when gambling. He said he’s trying to find out how often young people get in over their heads. And it’s the college-age group that’s prone to gamble.

Jordan Huesman is a freshman at Ohio State University. Huesman said he’s been filling out brackets since he can remember. But he said he isn’t concerned with becoming addicted because he makes small wagers.

“There’s a bar that my dad and all his friends are at and it’s a $1, $5 and $20 pool. We usually try to put one in each. It’s gets kind of competitive. My mom’s actually winning ours right now. She’s kicking our butts,” Huesman said.

But Huesman said he could see how someone could become addicted if they place large bets. He said there’s more at stake.

Aaron Ziglar is also an OSU freshman. Ziglar said he started filling out brackets in sixth grade.

“My big brother and my dad used to always do it so I just got into it because they did it. But I kind of started liking it so I did one every year just for fun really,” Ziglar said.

For Ziglar, it’s not about trying to win money.

“Like, I might put a small wager on it every now and again, but it’s nothing serious. I do it for the fun. Just to see if I can guess the right colleges and get it and win it,” Ziglar said.

NCAA players are prohibited from betting on games including professional teams. The organization has even created a website to explain some of the dangers of gambling.

Otteman said the millennial generation, those in college now, is most prone to becoming addicted to sports gambling.

“The thing that I see with college students more than anything else is, again kind of goes back to the generation there in, is that they’re very technologically savvy. And so they have the ability to collect information much greater than we do in the generation that I come from,” Otteman said.

The NCAA estimates that one out of ten Americans placed at least one bet on a bracket this year.